Buffalo

"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Behind the scenes

In the French translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Baruffio's incident with a buffalo is slightly different. It introduces another character: Baruffio's wife. "Remember wizard Baruffio who had a speech impediment and whose wife was left with a buffalo on her shoulders instead of a mink".). The translator, Jean-François Ménard, plays with the alliteration "bison"/"vison" ("buffalo"/"mink"). As it is usually women who wear furs, the introduction of a female character was necessary.